DR KENNETH McQueen was a well loved and respected GP in Lockerbie, who had a real zest for life and a relentless energy.
Despite his serious job, Ken also had a silly side which his family revealed in his eulogy.
They detailed how he loved playing jokes and dishing out nicknames and said: “He was fun and funny and generous and daft and brave and loyal and hard working and fair and he loved food and drink and sport and his family and his friends and music and he was really impatient and he loved soup.
“He was a real character and life will be very different without him among us.”
Also a genial host with impeccable manners, he was an active man and counted squash and golf among his hobbies, as well as learning Spanish and taking up curry cooking, gaining a reputation for his ‘Papa Curry’ creation.
Born in Glasgow on Leap Day, February 29 1944, he was the middle child of three with two dearly loved sisters.
The young Kenneth worked hard at school and by the end of his fifth year had already achieved the qualifications he needed to study medicine at Glasgow University.
As an excellent swimmer, he joined the university’s athletic club to play water polo, eventually becoming team captain. Those skills saved his life when, aged 19, he plunged into a freezing Loch Lomond to try and save a boy who had fallen through the ice.
After graduating medical school he became a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons and worked as a resident, first in Glasgow then in Dumfries.
It was here he met a radiographer called Marjory and they married in Torthorwald in 1969 and went on to have a son, Geoffrey, and daughter, Victoria.
On the career front, Ken switched paths from surgical registrar to become one of Lockerbie’s GPs instead, with the town then becoming his home for 50 years until his death.
His life as a GP was one of service with long and busy days in the surgery, often followed by nights or weekends on call. He was particularly skilled with the younger patients, due to his playful, open and interested manner – as well as his stash of Jelly Babies.
However, Wednesday afternoons were his sacred time off when he golfed with friends, finishing up at the 19th hole.
Golf, travel, gardening, baking and family filled his life after retirement from general practice in 2002, but he also kept up medicine with stints at the Crichton, Allenbank and at Lochmaben Hospital, enjoying helping patients without the stress of running a practice.
Paying tribute to his beloved father, Geoff added: “My Dad enjoyed his life and he wanted you to enjoy yours too.
“He was a good host and his expression of generosity and welcome could really be overwhelming at times.”
Dr Kenneth McQueen died on November 9 2022 aged 78 and is survived by his wife, children and grandchildren.
